2013 Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix Recap

One champion outshines his peers at Catalunya.

F1 came home to roost in Europe this weekend for the 2013 Spanish Grand Prix. The race just outside Barcelona is one of the oldest in the history of grand
prix racing, and thrills were not in short supply. Read on to see how the battle went down at the Catalunya circuit.

Once the dust settled from three practice sessions, three qualifying heats and imposed penalties, Nico Rosberg put his Silver Arrow on pole for the second
time in a row, and the third for Mercedes in so many race weekends. Lewis Hamilton landed right next to him in second, edging Sebastian Vettel in third.
Lotus drivers Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean sandwiched Fernando Alonso, followed by Mark Webber, Sergio Perez, Felipe Massa and Paul di Resta rounding
out the remaining top ten, with Jenson Button consigned to fourteenth.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

As the field sped away from the start and into the first corner, Rosberg held his lead, but Vettel squeezed past Hamilton for second. Alonso soon fought
his way past both Raikkonen and Hamilton to take third. Further adrift, Massa jumped from ninth to sixth and Adrian Sutil from thirteenth to eighth.

Though Rosberg managed to open up a lead over Vettel in the early laps, his teammate Hamilton was holding things up in fourth. Raikkonen finally passed
Hamilton at turn 10 on lap 7, soon to be followed by Massa, who brought his "A" game to the circuit.

After the first round of stops, Alonso and Vettel worked past Rosberg to battle for the lead. Massa and Raikkonen followed as the as the Mercedes duo
dropped down the field.

Alonso made short work of Vettel, putting distance between himself and the German while Massa continued his fight up the field to put the Ferraris in first
and second as the halfway mark approached. Raikkonen was also scrapping with the Ferraris, muscling past Vettel to give chase from third position.

Most Popular

Running on a different tire strategy, Raikkonen temporarily took the lead as the Ferraris pitted for fresh rubber, but Alonso reclaimed his position.
Raikkonen assumed P2 between the two Ferraris, and when Alonso stopped for the last time on lap 50 of 66, he rejoined in the lead.

After 66 laps of gripping action, the crowd erupted in a roar as Alonso took the checkered flag at his home race for only the second time. In the process,
he also became the first driver to win at Barcelona after starting outside the front two rows, and brought Ferrari its record twelfth win in Spain.

Raikkonen and Massa followed to round out the podium and give Ferrari fans (who still remember Kimi bringing home the team's last world title) something to
cheer for. Vettel crossed the line in fourth, with his wingman Webber emerging a strong fifth. After qualifying on pole, Rosberg held on for sixth,
followed by di Resta, Button, Perez and Toro Rosso's Daniel Ricciardo. Sauber's Esteban Gutierrez finished just outside the points, but still ahead of
Lewis Hamilton.

The results weren't enough to knock Vettel out of points lead, but with 89 points to Raikkonen's 85, things are getting really interesting. Alonso trails
with 72, well ahead of Hamilton's 50, Massa's 45 and Webber's 42. Red Bull remains in the lead to retain the constructors' title with 131 points to
Ferrari's 117 and Lotus' 111. The battle resumes in two weeks on the streets of Monte Carlo.